Accepted Manuscript Middle Paleolithic Occupation of the Moroccan Sahara: Open Air Sites of the Tafilalt Marta Arzarello, Larbi Boudad, Stéfanie Guislain PII:
S1040-6182(13)00044-X
DOI:
10.1016/j.quaint.2013.01.020
Reference:
JQI 3637
To appear in:
Quaternary International
Please cite this article as: Arzarello, M., Boudad, L., Guislain, S., Middle Paleolithic Occupation of the Moroccan Sahara: Open Air Sites of the Tafilalt, Quaternary International (2013), doi: 10.1016/ j.quaint.2013.01.020. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Middle Paleolithic Occupation of the Moroccan Sahara: Open Air Sites of the Tafilalt
RI PT
Marta Arzarello (1), Larbi Boudad (2), Stéfanie Guislain (3)
(1)Laboratorio TekneHub, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, C.so Ercole I d’Este 32, 44121 Ferrara (Italy);
[email protected]
SC
(2) Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Moulay Ismail –Boutalamine, Errachidia B.P. 509 (Morocco).
M AN U
(3) Lycée Victor Hugo Marrakech, Route de la Targa, Marrakech - BP 2406 (Morocco).
Abstract
The Tafilalt region and the Drâa Valley (Moroccan Sahara) have been prospected since 2006 by
TE D
an Italian-Moroccan team with the aims of identifying and describing important prehistoric sites dating from the Acheulean to the Iberomaurisian. Although the lithic industries were found in surface contexts, the total absence of data for the region means that the data obtained are an
EP
important contribution to a better definition of the prehistoric occupation in the Tafilalt region. The purpose of this paper is to highlight, where possible, the similarities / differences between
AC C
the different Middle Paleolithic complexes as well as to identify productive strategies adopted, also in terms of raw materials exploitation. The Middle Paleolithic sites of the Tafilalt are characterized by a differential utilization of raw material (in terms of the morphometry of the exploited pebbles/outcrops and physical characteristics of raw materials), by a coexistence of different reduction sequences, and by an opportunistic behavior. All sites, including those in which Aterian elements were identified, are
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
characterized by the presence of Levallois, discoid and opportunistic (cf. S.S.D.A.) methods. In the sites where the tanged pieces are attested, the laminar method seems to acquire greater significance. It is important to emphasise that the substrate of the production is homogeneous in
RI PT
all sites, indicating an entrenched technological continuity during the Middle Palaeolithic of the region. All sites were sampled in a systematic way in order to maximize knowledge on the technical behavior that characterized the Middle Paleolithic in South-East Morocco.
SC
Keywords: South-east Morocco, Middle Paleolithic, open-air sites, techno-economical
M AN U
approach.
1. Introduction
Survey activity in the Tafilalt region and in the Drâa valley (Sahara desert, South-East Morocco) started in 2006 as a collaboration between the Faculté des Sciences of the Université Moulay
TE D
Ismail in Errakidia (Morocco) and the University of Ferrara (Italy). The aim of the project was to cast light on the distribution of prehistoric archaeological localities and to improve definitions of the Middle and Lower Paleolithic of the area.
EP
While problematic and often overshadowed by the scientific community (Balout, 1967), the study of surface deposits in desert environments, which are more numerous than those found in
AC C
stratigraphic contexts, can provide interesting information, as long as factors that could limit and distort the interpretation of results are taken into account (e.g. Anthony, 1954; Wengler, 1986; Aumassip, 1992; Guislain, 2000). The approach utilized has obvious limitations as the identified sites are open-air sites without any conserved stratigraphical sequence, nor any faunal remains. Nevertheless, the apparent homogeneity of the lithic assemblages allowed us to obtain important information about the technical behavior adopted during the Middle Paleolithic in the region.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
During the years 2006-2011, five main surveys were organized and fifteen major sites (fig.1) were discovered and studied with a techno-economical approach. At each site, the lithic materials were systematically collected from the surface over an area of 6 m2 (as permitted by
RI PT
the local authorities), but a general analysis of the materials present in the whole area of highest concentration of lithic materials was also conducted in situ. The lithic material is present only on the surface and is completely absent within the sediments.
SC
The chronology of the Tafilalt and Drâa Valley prehistoric occupation is not supported by direct datations because of the lack of a stratigraphic sequence or datable materials. However, the typo-
M AN U
technological characteristics allow the attribution of most of the sites of the Tafilalt to the Middle Paleolithic (including the Aterian) (Tab. 1) and most of the Drâa Valley sites to the late Acheulean, although also associated with Levallois reduction (Arzarello et al., 2012). We consider here Middle Paleolithic, or Middle Stone Age, sites as the ones that are characterized
TE D
by the absence of handaxes and feature the common presence of the Levallois method (Garcea, 2004; et al., 2012) and Aterian as the Middle Paleolithic sites with the presence of tanged pieces
EP
(Mercier et al., 2007; Nami and Moser, 2010; Linstäder et al., 2012).
2. Geological Settings and the Prehistoric Occupation of the Tafilalt
AC C
The Tafilalt plain is located in southeast Morocco, in the domaine anti-atalsique. Strictly speaking, the name refers to the palm groves surrounding the cities of Rissani and Efroud, but this designation is currently being extended to the entire alluvial plain formed by the valleys of Ziz and Rhéris wadis (fig. 2). The geological and geomorphological characteristics of the Tafilalt region are closely linked to those of southeast Morocco and to the major tectonic axis of the “accident sud-atlasique”
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
(Boudad, 2004; Boudad et al., 2003a; 2003b; 2003c). In the north, the Haut-Atlas region is characterized by a marine sedimentation interrupted between the beginning of the Lower Jurassic
distorted the landscape, forming a shell of very high fault-folds.
RI PT
and the Middle Jurassic. During the Mesozoic and especially during the Cenozoic, tectonics
In the south, the anti-atlasique domain was covered by sea and was subsequently subjected to orogenic movements during the Pre-Cambrian and the Paleozoic. The Hercynian movements
SC
created relief, largely leveled at the end of the Palaeozoic. These reliefs remained exposed until the mid-Cretaceous and were subsequently partially covered by the Cenomanian-Turonian Sea.
M AN U
The Hercynian movements, followed by basement folds and deformation of the coverage, have created a landscape of mountain ‘wrinkles’ and great plains dominated by the kreb of the hamada.
Despite the important role of the “accident sud-atlasique” on the geomorphology of southeast
TE D
Morocco, there is homogeneity of climate, biogeography and hydrology. Drought is the dominant character determining an arid Mediterranean and a Saharan Mediterranean biome (Le Houérou, 1990; 1993; 1995).
EP
Concerning the Upper Pleistocene, paleoclimatic data for the region is scarce. Alimen (1985) considers that from 40 ka, the area was characterized by a relatively humid period, followed by
AC C
an arid period starting 20 ka. The same data are also confirmed by Boudad (2004) who identified carbonate deposits dated from MIS 9 to MIS 2. It is hypothesized that Middle Paleolithic occupation of the region correlated with humid periods within this broad timeframe, but clearly much more work on the environmental record of the Sahara is needed (see Drake et al., this volume).
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Though the evidence of prehistoric occupation is widespread in the region, the available data is of generally poor quality, not only because of the lack of stratified sites. Before the ItalianMoroccan mission in the Tafilalt, the main published data were those issued by Guislain (1998;
RI PT
2000; 2001). In the older literature the only references about the existence of the Paleolithic in the region in a paper on the Quaternary deposits of the Ziz and Rhéris valleys (Alimen et al,
3. Middle Paleolithic Lithic Assemblages
M AN U
3.1 Lithic materials
SC
1959) and in Maury (1983) in which three open-air sites are briefly presented.
All the studied lithic materials show some post-depositional alteration: a thick patina (from 0.3 to 1.5 mm) is always present on volcanic rocks and often on sedimentary rocks. The points and edges are almost always rounded. Unlike streaks, fractures and thermal alterations are very rare.
TE D
Based on these characteristics, it appears that the environmental processes that have most influenced the external appearance of the lithic assemblages are abrasion and chemical processes (Shackley, 1974; Tringham et al., 1974; Levi Sala, 1986; Burroni et al., 2002). Erosion has had a
EP
significant impact both on the spatial distribution of artifacts and on their degree of alteration. Another factor that has influenced the lithic assemblages is contemporary human disturbance:
AC C
some reduction sequences are not complete due to the selective acquisition of some specific tools (generally the Aterian points) that are sold in the tourist and antiquities market. The latter factor is one of the most serious causes of damage to the prehistoric heritage of the region. The studied sites are located at altitudes between 690 and 1400 m a. s. l. and they are all positioned on regs and glacis (fig. 3). The areas of accumulation of lithic materials are always very large (about 1-4 km2) and are most likely palimpsests.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
From each site, the lithic assemblages were collected and analyzed in the areas of maximum concentration. The main factors that attest to a relative homogeneity of the sets are constituted by the standardization in the management of the different reduction sequences and by the
RI PT
homogeneity of the exploited raw material and of the surface condition of lithic artifacts.
From a chronological point of view, the Middle Paleolithic sites of Tafilalt can be divided into three main categories: 1) Middle Paleolithic sites without “Aterian elements”; 2) Middle
SC
Paleolithic sites with “Aterian elements”; 3) Middle Paleolithic with a bifacial component (‘Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition’, with a predominance of the Levallois method that is also
M AN U
used to produce blanks for bifacial shaping). This work will consider the first two types.
3.2 Raw material factors
For all sites, the raw material most commonly used is flint, followed by siltstone, quartz, jasper,
TE D
silicified limestone and, more rarely, dolerite and rhyolite. The distances from procurement areas (determined on the basis of the present outcrops) are always very short, of the order of about 0-1 km for the flint and a maximum of 3 km for the other types of raw materials. The presence of
EP
raw materials appropriate for knapping seems to be a determining factor in the settlement of prehistoric populations.
AC C
The flint was mainly collected in a primary position (as plaquetes or pebbles) or, less frequently, in wadi beds, as for siltstone, jasper and silicified limestone. The volcanic rocks were, instead, collected by the bloque contre bloque technique from large blocks exposed nearby, as indicated for several sites in the Tafilalt (Guiselin, 2000), in the Drâa valley (Glory and Allain, 1952), in the Goulimine region (Antoine et Biberson, 1954), and in Atlantic Morocco (Biberson, 1961). More rarely, rhyolite and dolerite were also collected from river beds. A differential treatment of
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
the raw material has been highlighted for all sites as the raw materials of sedimentary origin have been exploited for all methods of débitage, whereas volcanic rocks have been used only
RI PT
opportunistically and, in some cases, for Levallois production.
4. Reduction sequences
From a general point of view, all the analyzed sites show the same methods of débitage, but
SC
some distinctions can be made on the basis of the presence of all steps of the reduction sequences and on the type of retouched tools (fig. 4- 5). Concerning the completeness of the reduction
M AN U
sequences, in some cases they are represented by all stages, from shaping to the phase of blank modification, perhaps leading to a ‘living site’ hypothesis. In other cases, the retouched component is almost completely absent and plain débitage appears to be under-represented,
4.1 Decortification
TE D
perhaps leading to a workshop setting hypothesis.
The decortification phase is not attributable to any specific method. All categories of cortical
EP
flake are present: primary flakes, flakes with lateral cortex (the most numerous), and flakes with proximal, medial or distal cortex. On the basis of the morphology of the negatives present on the
AC C
cortical flakes, it appears that decortification was primarily done by a unipolar method. Amongst cortical blanks, the more elongated and thick were often retouched and transformed in sidescrapers or, less frequently, into denticulates.
4.2 S.S.D.A. (Système par surface de débitage alterné) reduction
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
The largest (in percentage terms) production system is the opportunistic one (cf. S.S.D.A.; Forestier, 1993) (fig. 6). The method is based on the heavy exploitation of the raw material through the use, with a unipolar mode, of 3-7 unprepared striking platforms perpendicular to
RI PT
each other. The débitage surfaces and the striking platforms are created gradually with the advance of the débitage and are strongly influenced by the initial morphology of the utilized raw material.
SC
The blanks resulting from this method of débitage have a non-standardized morphology and size, may be cortical or not, and always show at least one cutting edge. The method is clearly aimed at
M AN U
the maximum exploitation of the raw material and the obtained blanks are on occasion retouched to produce side-scrapers, notches, denticulates, end-scrapers and tanged pieces (in the cases where the “Aterian component” is present).
TE D
4.3 Levallois debitage
The Levallois débitage (Boëda, 1993; 1994) is mainly represented in its recurrent mode (centripetal and, to a lesser extent, convergent, unipolar and bipolar) (fig. 6 - 7). The lineal
EP
production seems to be used, in most cases, in correspondence with the end of the reduction sequence, when the amount of raw material to be exploited is reduced. The preparation of the
AC C
striking platform and of lateral and distal convexities is always well executed, but in many cases the detachment of débordant flakes was adopted to reduce the waste of raw material and to speed up the shaping.
The blanks derived from a Levallois débitage have a medium-large size (generally between 30 and 70 mm long), a regular thickness, and a quadrangular or triangular morphology. Levallois
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
blades, made by a recurrent unipolar mode, are numerically most well represented in contexts where Aterian elements are also attested. The Levallois blanks, when retouched, are transformed mainly into side-scrapers and, less
RI PT
frequently, into denticulates or notches. Only one Aterian point, on a Levallois blank was found at the Aferdou Bega site. In general, it appears that Levallois blanks were not used for the production of tanged tools, probably because of their thickness or the technical investment
M AN U
4.4 Discoidal debitage
SC
required for their production.
Discoidal débitage (Boëda, 1993) is less well represented. It was used both as an independent reduction method and as an expedient method to continue the exploitation of cores initially exploited by a Levallois method (fig. 8). The discoid cores have either one or two surfaces of
TE D
débitage as a reflection of the morphology of the raw material: the pebbles are usually exploited in a bifacial mode and the plaquettes by a unifacial mode. The blanks are always short (never more than 35mm) and thicker in the proximal part. The shape is square or polygonal in the case
EP
of flakes made by knapping in a centripetal direction and triangular (lateral plunging) when knapping was made in a chordal direction. The discoid blanks were transformed into side-
AC C
scrapers and, less frequently into denticulates. In the sites where there are “Aterian elements” present, the discoid method seems to have a very marginal importance and appears to be mostly associated with the exploitation of depleted Levallois cores.
4.5. Cores on flakes
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
At three sites (Aferdou, Ighiramagaruh and Imlil) the use of flakes (essentially primary flakes) as cores is frequent. Although this mode of exploitation does not fully correspond to the technical criteria of Kombewa reduction (Owen, 1938), the fragments obtained were defined as Kombewa
RI PT
s.l. The cores on flakes are exploited in cases where the opening of flint pebbles has removed substantial raw material, used depending on the convexity naturally present on the ventral face of the core-flake. Production is always centripetal without special preparation of the striking
SC
platforms.
M AN U
4.6. Laminar debitage
The laminar method is also present. It is especially associated with tanged pieces and represents about 10% of the production in Aterian sites. The laminar débitage, understood as a volumetric exploitation, is strongly influenced by the initial morphology of the raw material (fig. 6, 9). The
TE D
initialization phase is universally limited to a few acts because the natural convexity of plaquettes and pebbles are used to start the production. The production is made by a semitournante modality and the rejuvenation of convexity is quite rare. The cores are usually
EP
abandoned following the occurrence of a serious débitage mistake (loss of convexity, fracture, etc.); in very rare cases, those in which the exploited block of raw material was of large
AC C
dimensions, the restoration of longitudinal convexity occurs through the opening of an opposite striking platform. The restoration of the transversal convexity, however, is not attested. The blades often have irregular morphologies and a section that varies from triangular to trapezoidal. The length varies between 35 and 70 mm. A small number of blades were retouched to obtain side-scrapers.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Microblade production is absent. This is not due to post-depositional factors because small elements (less than 10 mm) were found in all the sites.
RI PT
4.7. Aterian
The distinctive “Aterian elements”, found in the sites of Aferdou Bega and Lhmar Lakdad, consist exclusively of tanged pieces of local flint or, more rarely, siltstone. The blanks used for
SC
this kind of production are mainly S.S.D.A. flakes without a predetermined morphology and with a thickness of between 9 and 14 mm. The retouching is mostly concentrated on the peduncle (by
retouch. Bifacial retouch is not noted.
M AN U
a direct or bipolar technique) and the cutting edges are briefly modified by a short and low
At both Aferdou Bega and Lhamar Lakdad, about 85% of the tanged pieces are points, and the others are sidescrapers. Their dimensions are between 30 and 55 mm in length and 19 and 35
TE D
mm in width. Among the retouched component of Lhmar Lakdad, the tanged pieces constitute 17 %, and 18% at Aferdou Bega.
Façonnage has marginal importance and is represented by some pebbles flattened and elongated
EP
(in volcanic rocks or jasper) on which an edge has been worked (by means of small unifacial removals) in order to obtain a convex cutting edge. These instruments are not comparable to the
AC C
choppers of the Lower Paleolithic, but rather to side-scrapers obtained on unprepared blanks.
5. Discussion and Conclusions Despite the obvious factors that limit the results of the study of open-air sites in desert environments, they often represent the only available evidence of prehistoric occupation in some regions, as in the Tafilalt. There are also strengths associated with open-air localities, such as
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
excellent site visibility. The techno-economical analysis of lithic materials presented here has allowed, firstly, the definition of common trend at all sites and, secondly, the highlighting of some peculiarities in the sites where tanged tools are present.
RI PT
The sites generically attributable to the Middle Paleolithic have in common with the Aterian sites (the latter essentially defined according to the finding of tanged tools and to the increase of laminar débitage) the exploitation of the same raw materials and the presence of the same
SC
methods of débitage (opportunistic, Levallois, discoid and laminar), even if represented in different percentages. The only distinctive features that it was possible to identify in the
M AN U
"Aterian" sites are, apart from the obvious presence of tanged tools, are the increase of the laminar débitage, the low levels of discoid débitage and a greater diversification of retouched tools, including an increase in end-scrapers. In both types of site, an opportunistic technical behaviour (Arzarello et al., 2011) was adopted and is attested by the important utilization of the
TE D
S.S.D.A. method, by the economy of raw material and by short reduction sequences. The presence of a dominant common substrate in sites with and without tanged pieces, could be the result of the fact that they are not in a primary position and that they most likely represent
EP
palimpsests. However, from another point of view, this affinity could also be interpreted as evidence of continuity between the earlier Middle Palaeolithic and the Aterian (Camps, 1973;
AC C
Debenath, 1992; Tillet, 1995; Wengler, 2006; 2010; Mercier et al., 2007; Nami and Moser, 2010; Linstäder et al., 2012;). The emergence of new instruments and also the growing relevance of some débitage methods, such as the laminar, may also represent an adaptation to new environmental conditions or the emergence of new activities and needs.
Acknowledgments
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Our work in the Tafilalt has been possible thanks to the founding of the CNR-CNRST project in the years 2006-2009 and to the FP7-IRSES project since 2011. We thank A. Oujaa, A. Ait Touchnt, H. Houdouche and A. Scippa for their help in the field and discussions. We thank H.
RI PT
Reyes-Centeno for the English revision. And, last but not least, we thank J. Blinkhorn and H. Groucutt for organizing the Conference “The Middle Paleolithic in the Desert” and for having
SC
inspired such interesting discussions. Special thanks to H. Groucutt for the revision.
References
M AN U
Alimen, H., Chavaillon, J., Margat, J., 1959. Contribution à al chronologie préhistorique africaine. Essaye de corrélation entre les dépôts quaternaires du bassin Guir-Saoura (Sahara) et du bassin du Tafilalt (Maroc). XVIe Congrès Préhistorique de France, Monaco, 161-177. Alimen, H., 1987. Evolution du climat et des civilisations depuis 40.000 ans du Nord au Sud du
TE D
Sahara occidental : premières conceptions confrontés aux donnés récents. Bulletin de l’Association Française pour l’Etude du Quaternaire, 215-227. Arzarello, M., Boudad, L., Peretto, C., Guislain, S., Aarab, M., 2012. The Levallois debitage in
EP
the Amane Oukider site (South-West Morocco): Technological analysis of a standardized assemblage. Comptes Rendu Palévol. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2012.01.006.
AC C
Antoine, M., 1954. Pour une réhabilitation des stations
de
surface.
Bulletin
de
la
Société de Préhistoire du Maroc, 7-8, 147-153. Antoine, M., Biberson, P., 1954. Compte rendu d'une mission de préhistoire dans la région sous contrôle français du Draa inférieur. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique du Maroc, 7-8, 17-27. Arzarello, M, Peresani, M, Fontana, F., 2011. Manuale Di Tecnologia Litica Preistorica. Concetti, Metodi E Tecniche. Roma: Carrocci, 264 pp.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Aumassip, G., 1992. Quelques problèmes conceptuels de la Recherche préhistorique en Afrique du Nord. Pré-actes du colloque de Témara, Maroc. Balout, L., 1967. Procédés d'analyses et questions de terminologie dans l'étude des ensembles
RI PT
industriels du Paléolithique inférieur en Afrique du Nord. In Bishop WH, Clark JD, (Ed). Background of evolution in Africa I. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 701-735.
Benalla, M., 2003. Etude morpho-dynamique de l’évolution du Tafilalet (Maroc) apports de la
SC
sédimentolgie et de l’imagerie aérienne et spatiale. Thèse de doctorat, Université Mohammed VAGDAL, faculté des Sciences de Rabat.
Antiquités du Maroc, 17, 554p.
M AN U
Biberson, P., 1961. Le Paléolithique inférieur du Maroc Atlantique. Publication du Service des
Boëda, E., 1993. Le débitage discoïde et le débitage Levallois récurrent centripète. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 90-6, 392-404.
TE D
Boëda, E., 1994. Le concept Levallois: variabilité des méthodes. Monographie du CRA (Paris), vol. 9.
Boudad, L., 2004. Les Formations sédimentaires du Pléistocène supérieur et de l’Holocène du
EP
Tafilalt (Sud-Est du Maroc). Géochronologie, Stratigraphie et Paléoenvironnement. Doctorat d’Etat en Géologie (option sédimentologie, Géologie du Quaternaire (Université Moulay Ismaïl,
AC C
Meknès Maroc). 270 pp.
Boudad, L., Arzarello, M., Aarab, M., Peretto, C., Oujaa, N., Oulmaki, N., Roubet, C., Ridaoui, M., Ait Touchant, A., 2008. Les sites de plein air du Tafilalt: Cartographie et problèmes de conservation. Le Quaternaire Marocain dans son contexte méditerranéen, Oujda, Publications de la Faculté de Sciences d'Oujda : 320-333.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Boudad, L., Kabiri, L., Farkh, S., Falgueres, C., Rousseau, L., Beauchamp, L., Nicot, E., 2003a. Datation par la méthode U/Th d’un travertin quaternaire du Sud-Est marocain : Implications paléoclimatiques pendant le Pléistocène moyen et supérieur. Comptes rendus Geoscience 335,
RI PT
469-478.
Boudad, L., Kabiri, L., Krimou, A., Delaune, M., El Maataoui, M., 2003b. Signification dynamique et climatiques des formations fluviatiles de la plaine de Tazoughmit (Goulmima,
SC
Maroc). Notes et Mémoirs Service géologique Maroc, 452, 287-292.
Boudad, L., Kabiri, L., Weisrock, A., Wengler, L., Fontugne, M., El Maataoui, M., Makayssi,
M AN U
A., Vernet, J-L., 2003c. Les formations fluviatiles du Pléistocène supérieur et de l’Holocène dans la « Plaine » de Tazoughmit (Oued Rheris, piémont sud-atlasique de Goulmima, Maroc), Quaternaire 14 (3), 139-154
Burroni, D., Daonahue, R. E., Pollard, M., Mussi, M., 2002. The Surface Alteration Features of
TE D
Flint Artefacts as a Record of Environmental Processes. Journal of Archaeological Science 29, 1277-1287.
Camps, G., 1973. L’age Atérien nord-Africain et saharien. Estudias dedicados al profesor dr.
EP
Luis Pericot. Barcelona. Instituto Arqueologia y Prehistoria, 29-46. Debénath, A., 1992. Hommes et cultures matérielles de l'Atérien marocain. L'anthropologie 96,
AC C
4, 711-720.
Drake, N.A., Breeze, P., Parker, A.G., this volume. Palaeoclimate in the Saharan and Arabian deserts during the Middle Palaeolithic and the potential for hominin dispersals. Quaternary International, this volume.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Forestier, H., 1993. Le Clactonien: mise en application d'une nouvelle méthode de débitage s'inscrivant dans la variabilité des systèmes de production lithique du Paléolithique ancien. Paléo 5, 53-82.
Relations. Journal of Anthropological Research, 60, 27-53.
RI PT
Garcea, E. A. A., 2004. Crossing Deserts and Avoiding Seas: Aterian North African-European
Glory, A., Allain, C., 1952. Les quartzites taillés de la haute bordure du Draa supérieur (Maroc).
SC
Actes du Congrès Panafricain de Préhistoire, IIè session, Alger, 1952 : 435-448.
Guislain, S., 1998. Relations entre matières premières lithiques et élaboration technique :
M AN U
influence des caractères des supports sur le déroulement de la séquence opératoire. In : F. Facchini, A. Palma di Cesnola, M. Piperno, C. Peretto, ed., XIIIème UISPP, Forli, vol. 2, The first humans and their cultural manifestations. Ower Middle Paleolithic. Forli, ABACO, 219225.
TE D
Guislain, S., 2000. Organisation de la production lithique au Paléolithique inférieur et moyen. Approche et détermination de quelques modes d'acquisition et d'exploitation des matières premières du Tafilalt (Sud-Est Marocain). Université de Provence-Centre d'Aix, 376 pp.
EP
Guislain, S., 2001. Acquisition de support prédéterminés destinés à la réalisation des bifaces : l’exemple des ateliers de taille du Jbel Kifroun (Tafilalt, Sud-Est marocain). Actes des premières
AC C
Jounées Nationales d’Archéologie et du Patrimoine, Vol. 1 Préhistoire, 43-49. Guislain, S., Boudad, L., Arzarello, M., Aarab, M., Peretto, C. Ait Touchant, A., 2008. Etude préliminaire d’un vaste gisement de surface du sud-est marocain. Le Quaternaire Marocain dans son contexte méditerranéen, Oujda, Publications de la faculté de Sciences d'Oujda: 334-344. Le Houerou, H. N., 1990. Définition et limites Bioclimathiques du Sahara. Sécheresse 1, 246259.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Le Houerou, H. N., 1993. Changements climatiques et désertification. Sécheresse 2, 95-111. Le Houerou, H. N., 1995. Considérations biogéographiques sur les steppes arides du nord de l’Afrique. Sécheresse 6, 167-182.
RI PT
Levi Sala, I., 1986. Experimental replication of postedepositional surface modification on chert. In: Owen L, Unrath G, (Eds.), Technical Aspects of Microwear Studies on Stone Tools. Early Man News, 9/10/11, 103-109.
SC
Linstädter, J., Eiwanger, J., Mikdad ,A., Weniger, G.-C. 2012. Human occupation of Northwest
International, 274, 158-174.
M AN U
Africa: A review of Middle Palaeolithic to Epipalaeolithic sites in Morocco. Quaternary
Maury, J., 1983. Sites préhistoriques de plain air autour d’Efroud (Maroc). Travaux de l’Institut d’Art Préhistorique, 25, 201-212.
Mercier, N., Wengler, L., Valladas, H., Joron, J –L., Froget, L., Reyss, J-L., 2007. The Rhafas
TE D
Cave (Morocco): Chronology of the Mousterian and Aterian archaeological occupations and their implications for Quaternary geochronology based on luminescence (TL/OSL) age determinations. Quaternary Geochronology, 2, 309-313.
EP
Nami, M., Moser, J., 2010. La Grotte d’Ifri n’Ammar; Tome 2: Le Paléolithique moyen. Forschungen zur Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen, vol. 9. Reichert.
AC C
Owen, W, 1938. The Kombewa Culture, Kenya colony. Man 38, 203-205. Shackley, M. L., 1974. Stream abrasion of flint implements. Nature 248, 501-502. Tringham, R., Cooper, G., Odell, G., Voytek, B., Whitman, A., 1974. Experimentation in the formation of edge damage: a new approach. Journal of Field Archaeology 1, 171-196. Tillet, T., 1995. Recherches Sur L'atérien Du Sahara Méridional (Bassins Tchadien Et De Taoudenni): Position Chrono-Stratigraphique, Définition et étude comparative. In : Chenorkian,
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
R., ed.,
L'homme Méditerranéen: Mélanges Offerts À Gabriel Camps. Aix-en- Provence:
Publications de l'Université de Provence, 29-56.
Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, 83, 2, 47-55.
RI PT
Wengler, L., 1986. Erosion et sites de surface au Maghreb: Marja, site du Maroc oriental.
Wengler, L., 2006. Innovations et normes techniques dans le Paléolithique moyen et supérieur du Maghreb : une alternative aux migrations ?. In Astruc L, Bon F, Léa V, Milcent P-Y, Philibert S,
SC
eds., Normes techniques et pratiques sociales. De la simplicité des outillages pré- et protohistoriques. Antibes, Actes des XXVIe rencontres d’archéologie et d’histoire d’Antibes, 20-
M AN U
22 octobre 2005, 93-105.
Wengler, L., 2010. A New relationship between Mousterian and Aterian in North Africa. In Conard, NJ, Delanges, A., ed., Settlement Dynamics of the Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone
TE D
Age. Tübingen University, Kerns Verlag, Vol III, 67-80.
Figures and Table Captions
Fig. 1: Tafilalt and Drâa Valley, showing locations of sites discovered during the survey;
EP
Acheulian sites in green and Middle Paleolithic sites in blue (carte géologique du Maroc, Ministère de l’Energie et des mines, modified).
AC C
Fig. 2: Geological map of the Tafilalt (Benella, 2003). Fig. 3: A-B) Aferdou, general view of the site and detail of the surface; C-D) Lhmar Lakhdad, general view of the site and detail of the surface. Fig. 4: relative importance of the methods of débitage. The analysis is made from the materials sampled systematically on an area of 6 square meters in each site. Lhmar Lakhdad and Aferdou Bega are considered as Aterian sites on the basis of the presence of tanged tools.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Fig. 5: absolute frequency of retouched blanks. The analysis is made from the materials sampled systematically in a 6 m2 area in each site. Fig. 6: 1) Lhmar Lakhdad, Levallois flake; 2, 4) Lhmar Lakhdad, Levallois cores; 3) Lhmar
flake; 8)Aferdou, flake made by S.S.D.A method.
RI PT
Lakhdad, blade; 5) Aferdou, S.S.D.A. core; 6) Ighiramagaruh, S.S.D.A. core; 7) Imlil, Levallois
platform; Jbel Kifroun, 4) lineal Levallois core.
SC
Fig. 7: Aferdou, 1-2, 5-7) Levallois flakes; 3) recurrent Levallois core with a partial striking
discoid core. Fig. 9: Aferdou Bega, laminar cores.
M AN U
Fig. 8: Aferdou, discoid débitage; 1, 2) bifacial discoid cores; 3) discoid flake; 4) unifacial
Tab.1: List of sites found in Tafilalt Region and analyzed in this article.
AC C
EP
TE D
.
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
AC C
EP
TE D
M AN U
SC
RI PT
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
